Today's Recap for Gabey

Huntington Beach: Beautiful weather!
Side note: I'm pretty sure the three of us were the only ones not in string bikinis.

Can you find Keira?

He's still lovin' the sand!

Mommy and baby

Andrew in his fort.

First of all, please don't notice that Andrew is standing at his train table and that he has completely lost interest in this. Oops. Did I just write that out loud?
Secondly, does my hand in this not totally remind you of Doc in Back to the Future? To my sis's: you know, the part where Doc makes that face. Slow motion it and maybe you'll remember. :)

A Day With Nonnie and Papa

Is this guy cool or what?

Keira still loves bath time.

Today we started building things out of the floor mat we got for Andrew. I've got some more great ideas. I think this is one of those toys that is as fun for the parents as it is for the kids.

Fun for Papas too.

Cheri Up On Her Soapbox

There may not be any pictures, but please continue to read and tell me what you think...

Here's an excerpt from the book I'm reading. I must preface it with this: I LOVED the first part of this book, then couldn't stand it, and now it's getting decent again. All in all, it has some very new and interesting thoughts. The book is titled, "The Irresistible Revolution" and the author is Shane Claiborne.

I had a college professor who said, "All around you, people will be tiptoeing through life, just to arrive at death safely. But dear children, do not tiptoe. Run, hop, skip, or dance, just don't tiptoe." In my youth-group days, I had seen all too many wild would-be Jesus radicals fall by the wayside because they had never been trusted with the adventure or revolutionary living. When I was a youth leader, one of the high school kids who had "given his life to Jesus" got busted only a few weeks later for having acid in school. I remember asking in disappointment, "What happened, bro? What went wrong?" He just shrugged his shoulders and said, "I got bored." Bored? God forgive us for all those we have lost because we made the gospel boring. I am convinced that if we lose kids to the culture of drugs and materialism, of violence and war, it's because we don't dare them, not because we don't entertain them. It's because we make the gospel too easy, not because we make it too difficult. Kids want to do something heroic with their lives, which is why they play video games and join the army. But what are they to do with a church that teaches them to tip toe through life so they can arrive safely at death?

I've been talking with several of you (Gabe-mine, Allie, Andrea) about different parts of what Shane is saying here. (Although I just read this today.) I'd like to leave my comments at "Amen!", but for those of you who know me well, know that I can't stop at that.

Thought #1: Allie told me about a spunky old lady who once said, "Don't go through life just being a good Christian girl." (Although there are quotes, I'm paraphrasing.) I want to be that spunky old lady! Seriously, if all I can say at the end of my life is that I didn't do anything wrong, I will consider my time here on earth a waste! Life should not be about what you DON'T do, but rather about what you DO do. (Ok Gabe's 5th grade humor is kicking in.)

Thought #2: People are afraid of death. Hebrews 2:14-15 tells us that Jesus died to release people from the bondage of the fear of death (physical death). If you think that we do not fear death, think of all the things that we do to inhibit it! (i.e. medicine) So you'd think we would make the most of the time we have here, but instead we spend our lives tiptoeing around trying to make sure that nothing happens. Look, if Jesus doesn't come back before we die, then we are going to DIE! Let's make something happen!

Thought #3: I agree with Shane that the effects of the gospel that is believed in these days is boring. I remember very soon after becoming a Christian telling Gabe that I was sad because I had to give up so many different parts of my life. I didn't want to let go of those things. Gabe told me it was worth it. I explained to him that those things were what made me who I was. I didn't want to give up the fun that was in my life. Gabe told me that my life would be even better when I got rid of those things. Gabe was right. It wasn't a matter of just getting rid of the old, but also taking on the new. (2 Cor 5:7 became one of my favorite verses.) Jesus does not want us to have the same life as any other Christian. He doesn't want us to fit into the cookie cutter that so many churches today preach about. He came to give us LIFE, and not just existence, but abundant LIFE! He wants us to LIVE... on earth and in heaven. The grand adventure does not start when we are standing before Him in heaven. It begins NOW!

Final Thought: PLEASE (for your own sake as well as for mine) get out into the world and DO something!

Ocean-front Property in Arizona

Does anyone remember that song? Well, my trip out there appeared to be too good to be true also. Our whole family had planned to go together out to AZ for a mission trip with our church. We were going to be (they still are) leading a VBS program for some kids in Flagstaff and doing some work at the host's house. Andrew and Keira both got sick last week and they were too sick to go so I am home with them while Gabe is over in AZ.

It's a long story, but I finally gave up on going last nite and unpacked our bags. Gabe's parents will be here Tuesday-Thursday to visit/help. I've had so much help over the past couple of days, though. It's been such a blessing seeing people want to help. I can't tell you how many phone calls I've gotten with people genuinely wanting to help.

Sunday was a BAD day. Andrew didn't get a nap and both kids were still sick and Keira was teething. OUCH!!! I had broken down in tears once and had to leave the room and tell Andrew to "stay away from Mommy" twice. I had completely lost my temper and knew nothing good could come from being around Andrew. A knock at the door turned the evening completely around. Annie and Rita showed up to help out. Rita walked in and Andrew grabbed her hand to go play with him. (I think this was the first time ever that Andrew was mad at me!... I don't blame him.) Annie came in and took Keira. They told me to sit down and rest. Being Cheri, I ran all over the house getting things done that I desperately wanted/needed to. Then, I sat down and relaxed. They took the kids for a 10 minute walk while I read my book and calmed down. I was able to put Andrew to bed while they were there to watch Keira and then they left me with a quiet house, a calm spirit, and 2 sleeping children... Amazing.

Today, Annie came over and preempted the situation from occurring again by wearing Andrew out this morning and getting him out of the house. Here's a pic from last night:


Today was a much better day. The kids both miss Gabe a lot. As I mentioned on an earlier post, Keira doesn't find me hilarious or even moderately entertaining so she really hasn't been laughing or even smiling as much as usual. Tonight, Andrew had her cracking up so that made me feel better. Below is a video of her playing (painfully) with her toy... and of course, gumming it. Let's go teeth!!!

How I Know...

... that Keira is a baby...
1. After she wakes up, an hour of rolling over and shaking a rattle exhausts her to the point that she's ready for her morning nap.
2. Her limbs fly around out of control when she gets excited.


... that Andrew is 2...
1. My older sister, Sara, gives her kids a raisin when they go poopy in the potty. Ever since her last visit, Andrew wants a raisin when he goes poopy in the potty. That's great and all, but Andrew eats SO many raisins. For some reason, though, that one raisin is just enough to get him to use the potty instead of his diaper now. Before he goes, he always checks with me to make sure he'll get a raisin. I don't think this will work much longer.
2. Andrew has been having sporadic no-nap days lately. The hours before bedtime are very painful for everyone when this happens. The other day when he skipped his nap, he went crazier than I have ever seen him before. At one point he just randomly started screaming (not crying; no words;) at the top of his lungs. Can you imagine doing that?... ever??? Aggghhhhhhh!
(Note for #2 above- I wrote most of this post last night, including this section. Today, I almost started screaming uncontrollably... no words, no crying.)
... that my husband will make a great old man...
1. Part of why we enjoy going to the YMCA is their back "deck". It's got a beautiful view and they always have free coffee out and nice seating. After we work out, we'll pick up the kids (or sometimes not!) and go out there to relax. Gabe LOVES this SO much. He fixes his coffee (which is almost plain black these days), gets a section of the paper (hopefully business to check on stocks), and sits down. There are usually about 8 other men doing the same thing. The problem is that Gabe is the only one of them under 70.
2. Gabe listens to The Mutual Fund Show on talk radio.
... that I'm a mom...
1. A toothless grin lights up my day even when there has been crying all morning.
2. I am SO excited on Wednesdays because it's library day.
3. It will take me 50 minutes to get us all ready to get out the door in the morning. Then I'll realize that I'm still in jammies. 3 minutes later, we'll leave.
4. I had tears in my eyes when both my kids smiled for the first time.

New Achievements

Cutie Keira

Keira is growing up so fast. We can now lay her down for nap times wide awake and she puts herself to sleep. It's amazing. She was crying really hard one day and Gabe knew she was just tired so he put her down in her crib and voila! Ever since then, if we can sense she's getting tired, we just lay her down and she falls asleep!
She's also teething a ton now. I can feel one tooth just below her gums. She's in a lot of pain, but I'm glad to see progress. (Hence the pic above with fingers in her mouth.)

Keira can now sit up by herself! WHAT?! I thought this wasn't supposed to happen for a couple more months. I honestly wasn't ready for this. She's changing from an infant into a baby!

Andrew became a Book Bug reader this summer. Each time he checks out 10 books from the library and reads them, he gets a prize. His first prize was this little coloring book and crayons. If you could read the titles of the books he read, they say, "Curious George..." just about all the way down the page.

My Mom and ELM came down to visit last week. We had a fun time at the beach and a couple of late-nite domino games. These are some shots at Newport and (for those of you who we've dragged there) eating breakfast at Charlie's Chili.

Keira with Papa ELM.

This picture is especially for Cam and Janelle... Yes, that's beach sand.

Keira is now sitting with us at the dinner table... As long as she can see Gabe. She gets rather unhappy if she can't see him. It turns out our little Keira is a complete Daddy's girl. I think it has to do with food. Andrew LOVED me, but he also was crazy about eating. Keira couldn't care less if she ate or not (hard to believe with those rolls, I know...). This puts Gabe and I on a level playing field with her. She likes Gabe. I only cry when they're not looking. :)

Sis and bro.

A certain little sister of mine used to have 2 toes that crossed when she was little and it was the cutest thing. Keira has 3 toes that cross! She looks like she has too many toes for the one foot!

Cute! Cute! Cute!... If I do say so myself.

This is Abigail (Noah's little sister). Isn't that hair AMAZING?!

Abigail, Noah, Andrew, and Keira. Noah and Andrew are both excellent big bro's. What blessings for the little girls.

The "Aunt Joey-Bear Dance"

Notes for the 3 following videos:
1. "The Little Airplane" This was one of Andrew's book choices from the library. It is the most boring book I have EVER read. I'm pretty sure this was not intended to be a children's book, but the Wright brothers' instruction manual. These 2 pages that I read are typical of every page in this book... by the way, the book was 28 pages long! I read it once and was laughing so hard at how horrible it was that Andrew thought it was a comedy and wanted me to read it over and over. I was trying to read it to him calmly for bedtime, but I had tears in my eyes from laughing so hard.

2. Andrew and Keira seem to already be buddies. They really do like to play together... In other words, they really like it when Andrew plays with Keira.

3. This is Andrew's driving. We don't know why he thinks this is how you drive, but he does. Gabe and I have both had the opportunity to drive with Andrew rolling his hands like this the whole trip... literally.

A Bunch of Pics/Videos

How did they know to dress the same?

Our 4th of July cake, which tasted SO good! It's a brand called, "Namaste" that doesn't have any of the major food allergens, etc. Most of these things aren't that good, but this was so tasty. It also helped that we found out he could have Betty Crocker frosting. Yum!

These were our fireworks. We did just about nothing on the 4th, except enjoy our family and our time off. It was great!

Keira's first swimsuit.

She just started playing with toys about a week ago. She can hold on to them, move them around, and get them into her mouth.

Our last trip to D-land before the summer blackout dates. Gabe and Allie brought lollipops for the kids. They were so cute with them.

When your child has food allergies, there is such a limitation to what foods he can eat. Andrew and I ate this several times last week and we both loved it. It's chicken, spinach, bread, blueberries, and banana. Can you get any healthier than that? I always wanted to feed my kids healthy foods. I didn't expect to HAVE to, but it's some good accountability I suppose. And I have to admit that it's quite a bit yummier than most other junk... I guess that's another post for another time, huh?...

Keira working on the computer. (actually watching my aquarium screen saver.)

Cutie.

Andrew and I got tat's.

Keira is "talking" now and I just think she sounds so cute! This other video is while Andrew and Gabe were riding Autopia. I can't watch it and not laugh.

Can you tell at which point during this that I pretended to not be watching?

First of all, Andrew has gotten so good at riding his tricycle lately. Secondly, what you hear him saying is pretty much all he says on his tricycle and just about all he says anywhere.

Proof

In your face, JS!

Cute Andrew Sayings

We've noticed Andrew's vocabulary explode over the past few days. Here's some of the things he said this afternoon and evening:

[Peeking his head in the door while playing out on our patio/balcony area]: "Is everybody in here doing okay?"

[Every time he has to say good-bye to daddy, mommy, or even his grapes at dinner]: "See you 'gin, ______?"

[Andrew has a bad habit of calling me (Gabe) mommy, and calling Cheri daddy. Tonight, he realized his mistake and tried to cover it up as I was tucking him in]: "Night night! See you 'gin, Mommy.............and Daddy!"

[Coming home, seeing his stuffed animal Daisy on the ground where he left her]: "Good job waiting for me, Daisy. Thank you very much!"

[I've been doing a lot of work on our computer the last couple of days. So this afternoon Andrew decided to walk up to the computer]: "I play Monkey game on computer. Uh oh! It's not working. [Turns on speaker] I'll restart it."

[In response to Mommy's question about whether Keira cried a lot at the YMCA Kid's Zone]: "Yeah...1,2,3,4,5."


Speaking of counting, this one was from a few days ago:
[In response to my question about how his nap went, after he spent 3 1/2 hours in his room playing and not going to sleep]: "Um...6,7,8,9,10, 2 minutes."

[Every morning when he wakes up, he shouts this at the top of his lungs]: "Mommy, what are you?"

[Wearing one of Cheri's headbands and a pair of her shoes]: "Just like Daddy!"

Yikes.